Security Interests Of States Research Articles

(Dis)embedding humanitarianism: Trajectories of subordination and subversion within migrant-serving NGOs

A broad body of scholarship has examined how states and intergovernmental organizations like UNHCR and the IOM mobilize discourses of humanitarianism and political neutrality to legitimize and depoliticize “migration management,” which is imagined as an orderly, economically productive, and humane endeavor that is in line with state security interests, prevailing growth and development objectives, and human rights norms. The article contributes to more recent work that has tended to frame smaller grassroots humanitarian organizations as either subversive or subordinated to migration management. We engage with long-standing conversations in economic geography and related social science disciplines to consider embeddedness as a conceptual framework that highlights the spatial and temporal nuances of how migrant-serving NGOs negotiate intersecting moral, legal, and political interests. We suggest that conceptualizing embeddedness as a spatio-temporal process nuances recent conversations regarding the ambiguous role of NGOs as either subordinated or subversive relative to migration management. Approaching (dis)embeddeding as a dynamic relational process, we argue, provides a framework for understanding how NGOs simultaneously align with and contest the interests of migration management amid shifting social, economic, and political conditions.

FOLDOUT project: Towards an enhanced and innovative architecture for border protection

The objective of the European Union (EU) in the field of external border protection is to safeguard the freedom of movement within the Schengen area, and to ensure efficient monitoring of people who cross EU's external borders. To achieve an effective and efficient border management, there is a need for applying enhanced technologies and methods that support personnel to ensure the national security interests of states while allowing the cross-border flow of legitimate trade and commerce. The pa per initially discusses and analyses technologies used in EU external borders and res earch projects in border surveillance areas. We will further analyze the FOLDOUT research project, which focuses on through foliage detection in the inner and outermost regions of the EU. Based on the outcome of the aforementioned analysis, border guards’ need for innovative and modern technologies (e.g., maintenance systems, drones, wearable & nbsp; devices etc.) that will support border surveillance processes will be highlighted. Finally, a novel and enhanced FOLDOUT architecture will be developed and incorporated with the technologies described earlier. These innovations (a) could play a significant role in the daily activities organizational and planning tasks of border management, as well as other involved stakeholders federal agencies, and (b) might also enhance EU externa l borders security.

Teorijsko-metodološka analiza izazova, rizika i pretnji u savremenoj teoriji nacionalne bezbednosti

Basically, every type of government organization defines the defence system with functions that provide deterrence from threats, as well as countering various types and forms of threats to main social values. The subject of this paper is the national security strategy, i.e. security challenges, risks and threats that are essential for the fulfilment of the highest state security interests. The author has analysed the main categories of national security theory: "danger", "challenge", "risk" and "threat". On the basis of the definition and comparative analysis of these categories, presented in different sources, he reveals their content and essence and comes to the conclusion that, despite the semantic similarity of the categories "challenge", "risk and "threat", each of them defines a different degree of threat, that is, damage. Accordingly, it has been noticed that the National Security Strategy of the Republic of Serbia does not make a distinction between security challenges, risks and threats, but speaks of them as a single syntagm and category. Since this document is the basis for the integrated activities of the defence forces, in the function of protecting vital national interests, the considered issue indicates the importance of as precise definition of SCRT as possible because inaccurate definition could prevent an adequate response when some of security challenges, risks and threats manifest themselves on security object references. On the basis of the definition and comparative analysis of the definitions of these categories, mentioned in different sources, it can be concluded that, despite the semantic similarity of the categories "challenge", "risk and "threat", each of them defines a different degree of threat, that is, harmful consequences. The subject of this paper has been to make a distinction between SCRT in order to improve the methodology for identifying and assessing military and non-military challenges, risks and threats when developing the National Security Strategy and other strategic and doctrinal documents. Accordingly, in reality, dynamics from several security sectors (political, military, economic, social, ecological and informational) is intertwined in most security problems. The analytical framework of the sectoral approach of the Copenhagen School has been proposed for the analysis of manifest forms of threats to national security. The implementation of the analytical framework is possible within the multicriteria mathematical model. Since risk is a measurable value, the implementation of this concept increases the objectivity of the identification and assessment of SCRT for state security. This approach is important not only in terms of defining national security policy and defence policy, but also has the greatest impact on the development plans of the defence system as a whole, particularly the development of the capabilities of the Serbian Armed Forces.

Humanitarianism, securitization, and containment in Jordan's Za'atari Refugee Camp.

Through a case study on Za'atari, the largest Syrian refugee camp in Jordan, this paper critically explores a contemporary example of intersection between local and global humanitarian and securitization processes in refugee governance. The paper argues that Syrian refugees have been subjected to humanitarian care and securitized treatment, with their construction in terms of potential threat to State security interests spiking in correlation with insecurities over the expansion of the "Islamic State" (IS). The paper tracks the suit of measures implemented by the host Jordanian State, with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), to produce docile refugee subjects of "humanitarian government" in a closed camp. It notes how the UNHCR invariably augments and extends the remit of Jordanian State power at the expense of refugee rights, in the name of ensuring refugee and aid worker security and the effectiveness of the aid operation. The camp plays a critical role in a performative politics of containment targeting local and global audiences.

Essential Security Interests of States - Some Observations on the Emerging Practice under International Law

This paper tackles the notion of the essential security interest of a State as an exception enshrined in numerous treaties since the beginning of the 20th century. The purpose of the analysis is to establish whether the practice of international courts, tribunals, and other bodies competent to settle the disputes under international law has created any guidelines for interpretation of sometimes vague and discretionary terms used in the wording of essential security interest clauses included in different international treaties. The method is based on the exegetical analysis of jurisprudenceof international courts, tribunals and dispute settlement bodies in cases concerning interpretation of essential security interest clauses. The protection of vital interests of the State, designed as an exception to treaty-based international obligations,has been well established in treaty practice. The wordings of particular essential security interest clauses differ depending on the objects and purposes of the particular treaties, but the core stipulations of the essential security interest clauses remain very similar. The analysis of the judgments, awards and decisions allows to formulate some general conclusions as to the application of essential security interest clauses. Measures allowed under essential security interest exception must be intended toprotect ‘essential security interests’ of the invoking State. Although States remain discretion to define their essential security interests, it must be done in good faith, consistent with the ordinary meaning of the stipulation and treaties’ object and purpose.

Migrants, refugees and the Egyptian security state

This paper asks why developing countries engage, or not, with their migrant populations, focusing specifically on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Due to increasingly stringent border controls imposed by traditional migrant-receiving states in Europe and North America and decreasing refugee resettlement rates, hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees fleeing conflict and poverty in neighbouring African and Arab states have settled in MENA countries. To understand why and how new countries of settlement engage with migrants, this paper uses the case study of Egypt and 59 interviews conducted between September and December 2014 in Cairo and Alexandria. This paper concludes that only some factors from the literature on migration and citizenship are useful in explaining the Egyptian state's engagement with its migrant populations; namely, political economy factors, cultural embeddedness, and host state security interests, though security factors take precedence. To better characterise the type of engagement that Egypt pursues vis-a-vis migrants and refugees, this paper proposes the term 'strategic ambivalence', referring to a policy that aims to neither drive out nor to entirely include migrants and refugees into a host society, but instead aims to maintain the status-quo.

US Reconstruction Aid for Afghanistan: The Dollars and Sense

The United States, and its allies, the UN, NGOs, and the World Bank, have injected billions of dollars into what is commonly termed the “reconstruction” of Afghanistan since the war began in 2001. This paper focuses on United States spending on aid in Afghanistan, describing the rationale government officials have given for the aid, what they have spent money on, who has profited from the contracts to provide aid, and what the consequences of that spending have been in terms of benefits to the people of Afghanistan or the United States. The central findings of this review of US government investigative reports and existing field-based scholarship are that reconstruction aid has been allocated primarily to re-arming and policing Afghanistan, with poor or even counterproductive outcomes in both security and other-than-security domains. Furthermore, US companies have been among the primary beneficiaries of this aid, despite widespread fraud, waste, and dysfunction. In contrast to a focus on human needs, and rather than rebuilding the basis of a modern state, reconstruction has been focused on furthering United States security interests. Reconstruction thus sets the foundation for continued violence and impoverishment in the years to come.

A Causal Test of United States Security Interests and Humanitarian Aid

Scholars posit that the strategic interests of the United States condition the receipt of humanitarian aid; however, we argue that the concept of strategic interests is not well defined in the literature and therefore not well operationalized. We first address this issue with a simple conceptual framework – United States security hierarchy – that we use to organize information about the strategic interests of the US. We then use this framework to derive a causal claim and then subject this claim to as precise of a statistical test as is possible. Operationally, we demonstrate the conceptual and measurement validity of a simple coding rule that allows for the identification of three levels of the United States security hierarchy. Next, we demonstrate how nonparametric matching approximates conditions found in an experimental setting, which allows us to avoid the use of the strong distributional assumptions of the Heckman model. The matching preprocessing procedure allows us to test our key hypothesis about United States strategic interests using a simple linear equation; thus, simplifying the analysis and strengthening the claim about the causal effect of United States strategic interests on the disbursement of humanitarian aid. States outside the United States security hierarchy (non-partner states) receive less economic aid (other than food aid) than states within the United States security hierarchy.

IRANO GRĖSMĖS PROJEKCIJOS

Nuo islamo revoliucijos 1979 m. Irano veiksmų, ketinimų ir įtakos klausimai buvo sugrėsminami. 2005 m., Mahmudui Ahmedi-Nedžadui tapus prezidentu, tarptautinės bendruomenės santykių su Iranu struktūra įgavo dabartinį paranojiško įsibaiminimo dėl chroniško Irano ketinimų nesupratimo pavidalą. Irano užsienio politikos tikslų įvertinimas tampa ne tik svarbiu, bet ir pavojingu uždaviniu. Neteisingas vertinimas, kuris galimas ne vien dėl prieštaringų Irano signalų nesupratimo, bet ir dėl menko nusimanymo apie šalies politinį režimą, gali paskatinti imtis nereikalingų, tarptautinės bendruomenės saugumui įtakos turinčių veiksmų. Straipsnyje, analizuojant Irano regioninės galios projekcijas, siekiama atsakyti į klausimą, ar Islamo Respublika kelia grėsmę JAV interesams ir Izraelio saugumui, o jei taip, koks šios grėsmės pobūdis. Taikant nuosaikaus konstruktyvizmo konceptualų aparatą, atliekama Irano užsienio politikos interesų bei materialiųjų ir idėjinių galimybių juos įgyvendinti analizė. Aptariant Irano materialiąsias galimybes yra įvertinamas branduolinės programos veiksnys, įtakos tinklų Vidurio Rytų regione plėtra. Aptariant idėjines galimybes analizuojama Irano religinė doktrina ir jos įtaka strateginiams pasirinkimams.

United States Security Interests, the Arab Spring, and Iran

United States Security Interests, the Arab Spring, and Iran

Bruce D. Jones, Shepard Forman, and Richard Gowan (eds). Cooperating for Peace and Security, Evolving Institutions and Arrangements in a Context of Changing US Security Policy

Cooperating for Peace and Security presents a comprehensive collection of essays on multilateral security cooperation since 1989. Leading experts on wide-ranging topics within the ambit of international security and international cooperation analyse the complex relationship between multilateralism and United States security interests. After the end of the Cold War, scholars from various disciplines envisaged the United States, as the sole single-power of the international system, shaping international security arrangements in accordance with its security interests and policy considerations. The atrocious terrorist attacks of 9/11 put terrorism on the priorities of the US security agenda; as a consequence, the US started a �war on terror�, which effectively engaged not only the US and its allies, but also the United Nations. Up to 2003, when the US clashed with the UN, the US played a significant role in the evolution (and innovation) of international security institutions within and outside the UN. Ten years after the 9/11 attacks and in the aftermath of the failure of the UN reform initiative in 2005, the US has taken diverse paths in the realms of international peace and security, foreign policy, and diplomacy. Following the challenging strategies that were enunciated by the Bush administration in 2002 and 2006, the Obama administration issued the new Security Strategy Doctrine in May 2010. The first Bush doctrine, in 2002, was promulgated in time in order to clarify the intentions of the US in view of the �then� contemporary threats, namely terrorists or non-state actors, rogue states, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Even though the US response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks was encouraging for those who expressed their concerns about the single superpower's tendency towards unilateralism, international law scholars reflected extensively on visions concerning the emergence (or even the existence) of international hegemonic law whereby international �

The Cambridge History of Russia. Volume 1: From Early Rus' to 1689 by Maureen Perrie (review)

reviews 755 Perrie,Maureen (ed.). TheCambridge History ofRussia. Volume i: FromEarlyRus' toi68g. CambridgeUniversity Press,Cambridgeand New York,2006. xxii+ 777pp. Chronology. Illustrations. Maps. Figures.Tables. Notes. Bibliography. Index.£100.00:$185.00. Students and non-specialist readerswill welcomethisexcellentreference volume.It is organizedaccordingto the dynastic-political criteriawhich operatedintheperioditself, dividedchronologically intothreemainsections: 1) earlyRus' and the rise of Muscovy (c. 900-1462); 2) the expansion, consolidation and crisisofMuscovy(1462-1613); and 3) theearlyRomanov tsardom (1613-89). Centrestageispolitical history. A majorissuewas dynastic succession that, however governed (collateral, linear,sacralization oftheruler), raisedserious problemsof politicallegitimacy. There were recurring battles,including civilwars,from thefourteenth to theseventeenth centuries in whichvarious claimantsfoughtfor supremacy.The supportof the OrthodoxChurch, forexample,in thefourteenth century, betweenthe descendants of Daniil Aleksandrovich ofMoscow and MikhailofTver', couldbe a decisivefactor invictory. The relationship ofChurchand stateisanother important political themeinwhichtheOrthodoxChurchactedas a unifying factor, as a source ofnationalidentity. Conflict and tension within theChurch, between'officiar and 'popular'religious practices and theschism ofthe1660s,also receivedue attention. The dynastic principle ofdefining 'Russia' meansthatitsterritorial shape is constantly changingthroughout the periodcoveredby thisvolume.An important themeis the impact of Russia's geographicalenvironment in shapingand thenin turnbeingshapedby pre-Pe trinepoliticalinstitutions. One aspectofthisistheshifting balanceofresponsibility between central and local government in whichlocal electionscould replaceappointments only thentobe reversed backtocentral control. Territorial expansion couldincorporatenew nationalities or open steppefrontiers thatwerethenpopulated from above (statesponsored settlement) or from below(spontaneous peasant migration). In bothcases therewere new administrative challengesforthe state, notleasttherequirements ofmilitary defence. Leon Trotskii arguedthat itwas themilitary imperative, statesecurity interests internal and external, thatwas the formative influence on the Russianstate,thatled it to stand aboveand inopposition tosociety. Security needsforced thestatetomaintain a largearmyand droveeconomicand socialchange.The contributors tothis volumewouldnotgo as faras Trotskii, buttheimpactofmilitary service, as forinstancein layingthebasis oftheMuscovitepoliticalsystem or leading to the legal impositionof serfdomin the mid-seventeenth century,is highlighted. Trotskii was fascinated by how theRussianstategrewand consolidated itself on a backwardsocialand economicbase. Russiawas a predominantly agrariancountry and severalchaptersexaminepeasantlifeand economy. Richard Hellie comparesthe situationof the Russian peasant with the American farmer, and illustrates howtheperiodofthe'Agapetus state'(1462161 3) laid claimto controloverland and labour.This,he notes,'had little impacton peasantmethodsoffarming or material culture, butitlaid down 756 SEER, 87, 4, OCTOBER 2OO9 the courseforRussianhistory until1991' (p.297). The way in whichthe extraction of agricultural surpluses became increasingly coerciveacted,for Trotskii, as a brakeon the development of marketrelations. This volume tracestheexpansion oftraderoutes as a consequenceofterritorial aggrandisement .Novgorod, forexample,was enriched byitslocationfornorth-south and eastwesttrade .Denis Shaw chartsthe growth of towns,seeingthem as backwardin comparison withWestern Europeanequivalents in termsof commercial development, butalso emphasizing their administrative, religious and,in somecases,military-defensive functions. Thisvolumehas a wealthofinformation and variety ofperspectives. It is easyto use withan excellent indexand useful figures, tablesand maps.It is pleasingthatthe contribution of Sovietscholarship is noted,especially the Soviet-era practiceofcthedetailedstudyofsourcesand theirpublication in highqualityscholarly editions' (p. 12).One hopesthatthiswillalso act as an exemplar forfurther scholarship intothepre-Petrine period. Politics andHistory Ian D. Thatcher BruneiUniversity Vásáry, István. Cumansand Tatars:Oriental Militaryin thePreOttoman Balkans, 1185-1365. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge andNewYork,2005. xvi + 230 pp. Maps. Notes.Appendices.Abbreviations. Bibliography. Index.£56.00: $104.00. The extent to whichthenomadsofthesteppeguidedthepoliticaldevelopmentofEasternEuropeis partofan old and controversial debate.On the one hand thereis Muscovy'sdebtto Tatar institutions offiscalgovernance; ontheother, thecontribution to'state-formation' madeinthefirst millennium by theAvars,Onogur-Hungarians and Onogur-Bulgars. The presentwork examinestheroleoftheCumans and, to a lesserextent, theTatarsin the makingof thelate medievalBalkans.The authorpointsto therole of the Cumansin theforging oftheSecondBulgarian Empire,although conceding thatVlachs (to theextent thattheycan be unravelled at all in theexisting sources from theCumans)musthaveplayedan equallyimportant part.Allof thisisfamiliar enoughterritory andthepresent accountdoesnottakeusmuch further thanRobertLee Wolffsseminal'Second BulgarianEmpire;origin andhistory to1204'(Speculum, 1949, pp. 167-206). Hereafter, however, Vásáry's accountbreaksdownintoa discussion of thepartplayedby Cumans and Tatarsas auxiliaries and alliesin thestruggle betweenHungary, Byzantium, SerbiaandBulgaria. Vásárydemonstrates convincingly thatthenomadsmight intervene decisively infavour ofone ormoreofthecompeting sides.Likewise, he showsthata number oftheruling housesoftheregioneither rested on or wereinfiltrated by Cuman and Tatar elements: thus,theAsenids,Terterids and Sismanidsof Bulgaria,and Basarab and his heirsin Wallachia. In Hun^arvand Bvzantium. Cumansand Tatarsweresimilarlv absorbedinto the politicaland military elite.Nevertheless, in respect Wallachia,itwas surely theretreat ofCumania after the of Moldavia and thirteenth century ...

Clandestine Operations: The Vancouver Women's Caucus, the Abortion Caravan, and the RCMP

Abstract: In 1969, the reform of the Criminal Code legalized contraception, abortion, and homosexual acts between consenting adults. Yet the conditions under which legal abortion was now permissible were so restrictive that the new abortion law provoked widespread discontent. One women's liberation group, the fledging Vancouver Women's Caucus (VWC), outlined a plan to travel to Ottawa between February and May 1970 in an Abortion Caravan to protest the new law. The caravan's central feature was a van bearing a coffin filled with coat hangers to represent the deaths of women from botched abortions. Declassified RCMP files reveal that the Mounties were spying on the VWC and tracking the Abortion Caravan on its journey from Vancouver to Ottawa. An analysis of these files shows that the VWC, like other women's liberation groups, was targeted for surveillance because the RCMP was extremely concerned about women's liberation groups' real and putative connections to left-wing organizations. Indeed, the RCMP's approach to women's liberation groups was a crucial component of the climate of fear of subversion so prevalent during the Cold War. However, the files also reveal that RCMP surveillance of the VWC proved to be a major challenge because of the complex gendered nature of the force's surveillance of women's liberation groups. Ultimately, the files point to the importance of studying the ways in which state security interests intersect with variables such as gender, class, race, and sexual orientation.

Edgy Amity along the Mekong: Thai-Lao Relations in a Transforming Regional Equilibrium

In 1994, the opening of the Friendship Bridge commenced an apparent thawing of ties between Thailand and Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR). Out of deep socio-historical antagonisms and Cold War acrimony, the two countries seemed suited now for amity. But amity has continued to be edgy. Meanwhile, other countries in the region—China and Vietnam—vie for influence with Thailand over Lao. Amidst a rapidly integrating Mekong market and changing regional equilibrium, this study seeks answers to the following questions: What are the most significant Thai-Lao state security interests and how do they mesh with human security—especially in relation to economic interests? Why do Thailand and Lao currently appear to be highlighting economic ties to the detriment of military preparedness and human security? How is the shifting equilibrium in the Mekong Region shaping the future of Thai-Lao relations? The study hypothesizes that despite tensions, in an age of enhanced state-market linkages, Thailand and Lao prioritize economic collaboration over military and human security considerations.

Exploring the Limits of International Law relating to the Use of Force in Self-defence

In the new millenium, the scope and limits of the use of force in international relations are still the subject of strong debate. Some legal scholars and state representatives favour an expanded interpretation of the right of self-defence which includes so-called pre-emptive and anticipatory self-defence. The International Court of Justice recently dealt with a dispute involving the use of force, allegedly in self-defence, in the Case Concerning Oil Platforms (Iran v. United States). This article explores the contribution of the judgment to international law on the use of force in self-defence. It discusses two issues: the relationship between self-defence and the protection of essential security interests of states, and the Court's analysis of the conditions for self-defence. We conclude that the ICJ has largely confirmed its existing jurisprudence in the field and avoided making any explicit, significant new contribution to the notion of self-defence. Nonetheless, we suggest that the Court's insistence on a narrow interpretation of certain conditions and silence on some controversial arguments advanced by the parties is prudent and more eloquent than words.

Security for States vs. Refugees: peration Provide Comfort and the April 1991 Mass Influx of Refugees from Northern Iraq into Turkey

In April 1991, the massive influx of Iraqi refugees into Turkey precipitated a political process that led to one of the rare examples of humanitarian intervention. Under pressure from the Turkish government and world public opinion, Western allies declared a safe zone above the 36th parallel in northern Iraq and launched "Operation Provide Comfort." This Operation enabled the extension of relief assistance to almost half a million refugees and their repatriation to northern Iraq within a relatively short period of time. The article tries to establish whether "Operation Provide Comfort" served state security interests or the security of the refugees from Iraq.

Bernard Brodie and the Foundations of American Nuclear Strategy.

Despite recent improvements in East-West relations, security interests of states continue to be shaped by concepts and assumptions about nuclear strategy articulted in the writings of Bernard Brodie. The author provides on examination of Brodie's work, the intellectual climate in which it was expressed, its influence on other strategic thinkers, and its continuing relevance for our changing times. Bernard Brodie (1910-1978) is best known as the leading conceptulizer and proponent of using nuclear weapons to deter aggression, and as an articulate voice in the debate over the role of nuclear weapons. He was an incisive critic and a grand strategist, integrating military and political instruments and goals. He focused especially on the impact of nuclear weapons on Soviet-American relations and on preventing thermonuclear war. In this volume the author analyzes how and why Brodie's understanding of weapons of unparalleled explosive force led him to posit the need for revolutionary strategic thinking in broad-minded analytic method and in the focus upon cities as nuclear targets. He shows the effect Brodie's work had on the intellectual climate in which policy is determined, particulary in his frequent combatting of conventional wisdom. The author moves beyond Brodie's well-known interest in nuclear war prevention to highlight his focus upon coerciveness in war and his important but virtually unknown early work on target selection. He also documents how the revolution in strategic thought did not come full-blown: Brodie frequently shifted his views to take account of intervening changes in weaponry and means of delivery, his interpretation of Soviet motives, the war in Korea, and the Cuban missile crisis. Examining Brodie's writings in connection with opposing points of view, the author evaluates both the substance and the methodology of Brodie's thinking. He disaggregates arguments wherever possible, demonstrating how his method can contribute more widely to progress in national security studies. His evaluation of Brodie's strengths and weaknesses is a contribution to the current debate about the role of nuclear weapons in political and military affairs.

The Foreign Policy of Human Rights: Rhetoric and Reality from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan

Throughout the 1980 presidential campaign, candidate Reagan clearly and sharply criticized the Carter human rights policy, arguing that it was morally unsound, ineffective, and threatening to United States' security interests.' According to the Reagan view, the policy was morally tenuous because it created a double standard, condemning minor human rights violators while overlooking major offenders. It was considered ineffective because it actually reduced United States influence in the targeted nations. Moreover, Carter's policy was said to threaten United States security interests because it seriously undermined regimes which, while imperfect, were at least proWestern. In contrast to Carter, Reagan promised that he would initiate a more realistic human rights program. By avoiding the pitfalls of the Carter policy and properly understanding the moral questions involved, he would enact a policy that was both ethically sound and politically effective. This paper will first examine the enunciated principles and rationale for the Reagan human rights policy. This will be followed by a comparison of the Reagan and Carter policies as reflected by their distributions of United States foreign assistance. Specifically, we will examine whether the two administrations followed congressional guidelines that mandate a link between United States foreign assistance and the human rights records of recipient

Soviet Strategic Interests in Southeast Asia

The security interests of the states are rarely matched fully by their military capabilities. Nevertheless, external interests serve to guide the development of military capabilities. For external analysts, the identification of a state's security interests is useful for interpreting current military capabilities as well as for trying to anticipate the direction of future developments. For these reasons, Soviet strategic interests are discussed in this introductory section while current Soviet military capabilities arc dealt with in the following section. Largely for reasons of geography, the Soviet Union has tended to regard Southeast Asia as a region of secondary strategic interest. Moscow's primary concerns lie elsewhere. They are focused on regions adjacent to its borders ? Europe, China, and Northeast Asia ? while in the Third World the primary focus has been on the Middle East and then on South Asia.

World order, retrenchment, or realpolitik?—Options for United States strategy in the nineteen‐eighties

Abstract Three identifiable schools of thought have arisen purporting to describe likely scenarios for the foreign environment of the nineteen‐eighties. The resigned pessimism of neo‐isolationist “Retrenchment” advocates contrasts markedly with ambitious globalist designs for economic and social transformation characteristic of proponents of a reformist “World Order” strategy “beyond power politics.” On the subject of United States security interests and goals, and its capabilities to pursue these objectives, Retrenchers and World Order enthusiasts have reached divergent conclusions. Both points of view have more recently been subject to sustained criticism from the conservative supporters of a new Realpolitik embracing a conception of U.S. interests and capabilities at once more expansive than those of the Retrenchers, yet more concrete, selective, and practicable than the prescriptions for a new World Order.